MovieChat Forums > Gangster No. 1 (2000) Discussion > Favorite gangster torture scene (SPOILER...

Favorite gangster torture scene (SPOILERS)

posted 9 years ago by edino
2 replies | jump to latest

I know this has been discussed before but I felt the need to add my humble opinion after viewing this splendid film recently.

First of all, I saw this film some 13 years ago, recently viewed it and when the Freddie torture scene came up, nothing emotionally has changed for me. So tense is this scene that I was struggling to find the remote to press pause.

I don't want to sound over dramatic but that scene was intense. It was brutal and the first person observation by Freddie was raw and visceral to say the least. So many times I had to put the remote on pause or stop because the psychotic, atavistic, brutality on display by Bettany was too intense and engrossing.

Any thoughts on other scenes that come to mind? That infamous scene in Casino where Pesci and his brother meet their death is a close second for me.

[–] alexdelliott 9 years ago

Yes there is something very chilling about Bettany's acting in this film. I need to get around to watching it again but I always remember the scene with him in the elevator when he does that silent scream, it makes you feel like you're looking into the heart of a psycopath. The Freddy torture scene was one of the most brutal I've seen to this day and you don't even see much. It's just looking from the perspective of a dying man that makes me feel so uncomfortable.

[–] Tarquin_Q_Zanzibar 9 years ago

I've been struggling to come up with anything that remotely compares, and come up empty. I've seen plenty that are much more explicit - for all the extreme violence, the first person view means we don't actually see the damage being done - both nothing quite as brutal. The fade-outs imply a passage of time and thus a chillingly drawn-out process of torture. More explicit torture scenes tend to go for shock value and are often quite gratuitous, But the focus on psychopathic nature of Gangster at his work was much more chilling and horrendous.

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